The fourth race of the Trofeo Circolo d'Italia and probably the last chance for the puncheurs to take the lead in GC. The finish on Monte Morra makes this criterium a mountainous one, but it ain't one for climbers only.
Still, the GC-leading Metinvest-trio Brambilla, Vitoria and Capecchi face a tough challenge today, even though Vitoria finished 4th in the first hilly crit.
Cristiano Salerno, winner of this crit in Ascoli, wants to repeat his success and take the lead in the overall.
Other puncheurs like Federico Rocchetti or Nino Schurter delivered as well, looking to do the same here in Marcellina.
Stronger climbers like Artemio Moschella (Farnese), Mattia Pozzo (Idea) or Marco Osella (Cisco) may join the mix, too.
5 riders broke clear early and established a 1'30"-gap on the bunch with 3 of 7 being raced:
Greogry Hugentobler (Sauber)
often attacking Arnaud Grand (VW)
Andrea Guardini (Farnese)
Daniele Callegarin (Italy)
and Stefano Pirazzi (Amore)
A few minutes later, we see another group of riders attacking the field with 27km to go. This time at least one promising rider:
Riccardo Zoidl (Vorarlberg) breaks clear, watching some other riders trying to follow..
..those other are:
Mattia Pozzo (Idea)
Dimitri Jiriakov (Colnago)
and Francesco Bongiorno (WIT), who already raced strong two days ago.
So with Pozzo and Jiriakov (and also Zoidl), decent climbers aiming for a succesful mid-race-attack.
This group Pozzo/Zoidl caught up to the early escapees one lap later (15km remaining)..
..and just as they entered the bell-lap (6km), the group went into pieces, as Zoidl paced hard. 3 riders remain in the lead:
early escapee Hugentobler
as well as Pirazzi
and Zoidl.
They even managed to drop the rather strong attackers like Pozzo or Jiriakov, holding on to a 50"-gap on the chasing pack with 5.5km to go!
Time for the big names to join today's action: Nino Schurter (Sauber) attacks the bunch with 3.5km remaining, facing a 55"-disadvantage on the leading three!
And Schurter closed that gap quickly, reaching the leading group at the bottom of the finish-climb (half) up the Monte Morra!
A great position, as his teammate Hugentobler leads the group into the final 2km!
Meanwhile, the peloton still managed to narrow the gap: 35" now.
Cristiano Salerno can't wait and tries to bridge the gap! He has a nice chance to win this Crit Series, if he repeats his victory from two days ago.
But it ain't too much time left: Zoidl kicks off the leading group's sprint under the kite, still with an 20"-gap on Salerno and other attacking favorites.
Schurter in 2nd position now, as teammate Hugentobler did his best to bring his compatriot into good position. Pirazzi seems to struggle though.
600 meters to go..
..Zoidl and Schurter still hold on to a 18"-gap, just as Salerno catches up to the now suffering early escapees Pirazzi/Hugentobler.
Also closing up:
Moschella (Farnese), Osella (Cisco), Aru (ING) and Pozzo, who gives it another try after his move earlier today.
Anyway, it looks like Zoidl/Schurter will fight for today's win, as the chasing group is still 19" in arrears with the finish-line approaching!
Moschella and Pozzo got an advantage over the sprinting group of favorites, where Salerno suffers from his efforts. Teammate Possoni joins the mix!
Nino Schurter takes it! A great sprint by him and also some credit to his teammate Hugentobler. Also an important win, as Schurter already finished 2nd in the first hilly race.
Riccardo Zoidl takes a well deserved 2nd, even though he looked like the winner for a few moments. Still, a nice result.
Artemio Moschella finishes 3rd, 16" behind Schurter.. a strong Mattia Pozzo comes in 4th.
The Cisco-trio Osella/Possoni/Salerno finishes from 4th to 6th. While it's a nice team effort, it ain't enough for the individual rankings it seems.
Georg Preidler, Fabio Aru and Alexander Schrangl complete the Top-10.
Metinvest struggled as expected (Grosu best 32nd), so Schurter takes the GC-lead (22 pts) from Brambilla (21). Still: tomorrow's final race will suit the Metinvest-boys more than Schurter of course.
Cristiano Salerno, winner of this crit in Ascoli, wants to repeat his success and take the lead in the overall.
Nino Schurter delivered as well, looking to do the same here in Marcellina.
Riccardo Zoidl
